June 12, 2021 (Saturday)

Through the mediation efforts of Georgia and the United States, Azerbaijan agrees to release 15 Armenian citizens currently being held in captivity. In exchange, Armenia provides Azerbaijan with maps of 97,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in the Agdam District.

Two blasts against minibuses carrying civilians kill at least seven people near the Jinnah Hospital in Kabul. The government says that the number of deaths is expected to increase due to the seriousness of those wounded. No group claims responsibility for the attacks.

Eight people die and three others are injured after a toxic chemical leak at a plant in Xiaohe District of Guiyang, southwestern China's Guizhou province.

The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide surpasses 175 million.

The Ministry of Health issues an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the fourth vaccine to be approved for use in Vietnam.

President Félix Tshisekedi says that hospitals in the country's capital, Kinshasa, are "overwhelmed" by COVID-19 patients amid an increase in the number of cases as the country faces its third wave of the pandemic.

Saudi Arabia bans foreign travellers for the second consecutive year for the Hajj pilgrimage, only allowing a maximum of 60,000 citizens and residents between the ages of 18 and 65 who have been vaccinated and are free of chronic diseases to take part in it.

Due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces that enterprises that do not normally work on weekends remain closed for the next week. In addition, food courts and children's play areas in shopping centers are to close for a week beginning tomorrow, and restaurants and bars must limit their service to takeout from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Mongolia reports a record 1,792 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 73,869.

Vietnam surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is fined for violating the mask mandate imposed in São Paulo.

Colombia reports a record 577 deaths of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 95,192.

Violent clashes between the youth and the police break out in the Tunisian capital of Tunis during the evening, following protests over the Tuesday killing of a police detainee.

At least 14 people are injured in a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, United States. A suspect has been arrested while police are still looking for another.

Dozens of protesters in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja are arrested or injured after police fired tear gas at the crowds. The protests, coinciding with a public holiday marking Nigeria's transition to democracy, were organized to protest President Muhammadu Buhari's Twitter ban and numerous other issues plaguing his administration, with protestors calling for his resignation.

As counting nears an end and socialist candidate of Free Peru Pedro Castillo is set to win the presidency, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori asks for thousands of votes to be annulled and blames "the international left" for Castillo's win.

Protesters in London gather at Downing Street to call for G7 leaders to end their support for Israel ahead of the G7 summit.

Algerian citizens head to the polls to vote for a new session to the People's National Assembly for the first time since former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was deposed in 2019. Turnout is the lowest in 20 years due to boycotts over the arrest of seven Hirak movement leaders.

Google announces that it is building the world's longest undersea cable that will run from the east coast of the United States to Las Toninas, Argentina, with additional connections in Praia Grande, Brazil, and Punta del Este, Uruguay. The cable will ensure fast, low-latency access to Google products, such as Search, Gmail and YouTube, as well as Google Cloud services.

In tennis, Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic defeats Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia to win the women's singles title at the 2021 French Open, her first Grand Slam singles title.

The group stage match between Denmark and Finland in Copenhagen is suspended following the collapse of Danish player Christian Eriksen during the first half. UEFA reports that Eriksen is in stable condition.